The latest crash test results released by the Latin NCAP reveal that the safety levels of some popular cars sold in the region are still twenty years behind the industrialised countries and below global standards. However, there has been some progress with more cars achieving a four star safety rating and two manufacturers making air bags standard in the models tested.

Well, it seems that Chinese cars still have a huge deficit, even if equipped with stuff like airbags. Just look at the door sills collapse. Even an 15y. old western design like the VW Bora is still miles ahead. That's not a saving I would want to make, honestly...

The Toyota Etios on the other hand at least shows that even a cheap car aimed at developing markets can offer decent levels of protection. There is no excuse for those 0 - 2 star vehicles which are still on sale.....

sn1572

11-15-2012, 06:32 AM

Well, it seems that Chinese cars still have a huge deficit, even if equipped with stuff like airbags. Just look at the door sills collapse. Even an 15y. old western design like the VW Bora is still miles ahead. That's not a saving I would want to make, honestly...

The Toyota Etios on the other hand at least shows that even a cheap car aimed at developing markets can offer decent levels of protection. There is no excuse for those 0 - 2 star vehicles which are still on sale.....
For sure, mick78. Though I wouldn't extend these results to all Chinese cars - lots of new models are achieving good results in C-NCAP tests.

The Toyota Etios was a good surprise, as well as the Honda City (it was already tested by ANCAP, but that was the Thai built RHD model) - nice, considering that it's a cheaper sedan version of the Fit/Jazz for emerging markets.

Biggest disappointment was the Renault Sandero. Another case of worsening the structure for Latin America. A-pillar from the Brazilian-built Renault Sandero collapsed. In the European-built Dacia Sandero test, A-pillar bends but doesn't collapse. Body reinforcements used in European models often aren't used in Latin American versions. The type of steel used is different (poorer quality) and thickness is very low - all that to save a little in production costs.